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In the center ring: President Bush's East Room signing (since it's soooo hot outside) of the corporate accountability bill.

"Administration officials plan an elaborate bill-signing ceremony, with a prominent role for officials from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission who are part of the corporate fraud task force Bush announced during a speech on Wall Street earlier this month," the Washington Post 's Allen reports. "Several small investors have been invited." LINK

Watch Bush closely: does he seem really, truly into this?

Even some supporters have commented that the president's good heart hardly seems to have been on his sleeve as he has discussed this issue recently, so the degree to which he is able to project to his cable audience a sense that he really cares about this issue will be key.

The latest ABCNEWS/ Washington Post poll LINK shows an uptick for Bush on corporate responsibility. But on his handling of the economy overall, the latest Gallup poll, written up by USA Today 's McQuillan, shows the following: "[a]fter 10 months focused on terrorism, Americans are turning to pocketbook issues. For the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks, the economy is ranked as the most important problem facing the country: 26% of those polled say so, compared with 22% who rank terrorism first." LINK

"[T]here has been a steady decline in how people view Bush's handling of the economy. In October, just before Enron announced that it had overstated profits and other companies began a series of similar disclosures, 72% approved of the president's economic performance. Now, 52% do."

The various vulnerabilities that this bill-signing represents for the president, both substantively and stylistically, are all things Democrats hope to capitalize on in both 2002 and 2004 — if only they can find the right leadership and '04 spokesperson amidst their own wrestling with how to frame economic issues.

Which bring us to Circus Ring #2, and the lead we would have used today, were bigger things not happening:

Good evening (or morning, really). We begin tonight (or today, really) with a curious decision …

When Al Gore's spokesman said that the former Veep wouldn't be addressing Democratic Leadership Council in New York because of a "prior commitment" scheduling conflict, little did anyone attending or covering the meeting realize just how apparently questionable that boilerplate excuse was.

Even grumbling DLCers said it was perfectly smart (and classic frontrunner) politics for Gore to avoid getting on the stage figuratively with his rivals, but yesterday, right about when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was wowing the DLC audience with an impassioned riff against GOP charges that the Clinton/Gore years were an "economic binge" period, the Note has learned that Gore was down the street having lunch at the Regency Hotel.

Yahoo, Mr. Vice President, says the distance from the Regency to the Hilton is 0.8 miles, and can be covered in two minutes (although we concede that midday traffic might have made the trip a bit longer).

Here are the driving directions.

Two sources say Mr. Gore was dining with a Tisch, a key family in Democratic politics to be sure, but if the Note were running for the Democratic nomination, the Note would prefer to do it with DLC Big Al From's support, or at least, without his enmity.

Since insiders' biggest concerns about Gore being the nominee revolve around whether he has the political judgment to win the White House, we wonder whose advice he was listening to when he decided to stiff the second-most important group in the Democratic nominating process (after labor), without the sense to get off the island of Manhattan.

Which would be worse: that Gore thought through his decision to do this, and did it anyway, or that he didn't even think about it, or get advice?

"Lichtenstein" is a scheduling conflict; "lunch" in the neighborhood really isn't.

Prior to the revelation herein about where Gore was, DLC leading lights seemed to be ambivalent about Gore's absence, and have spent the last few days talking down Gore's "people versus the powerful" message from the 2000 campaign.

(Some of you will recall that the DLC was quick to argue after the Florida recount that Gore lost the election because he didn't run as a centrist. Which had us scratching our heads a little, because we thought Gore won the popular vote.)

The New York Post says, "Behind the scenes at the event, much of the chatter was about Gore's decision to skip the forum hosted by the DLC, whose founder, Al From, has been sharply critical of Gore's populist 'us-against-them' rhetoric in 2000."

In the upcoming midterm elections and in 2004, Democratic party elites feel they have a pretty good case to make against George W. Bush, but are worried that they don't have the right banner-carrier to lead the charge. There's been a lot of jawing and kibbitzing at this event over Gore's 2000 message and how to best approach economic and corporate accountability issues now, without appearing anti-business.

A Gore loyalist points out that the DLC's own message has elements of the "people versus the powerful" in it, and so wonders why they are bashing Gore?

Still, because Democratic insiders tend to think that if Gore runs, he will likely win the nomination, and because they don't want that to happen, they have turned to the power of positive thinking, and taken to imagining a Gore-less field.

The DLC, incidentally, wraps up their three-day meeting today with speeches from Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and '04 wannabes John Edwards and Dick Gephardt.

Of the five high-wattage speeches the DLCers heard yesterday, the best received came from the one Senator who already has passed on a bid for the presidency in 2004: Senator Clinton.

Former President Clinton would have been exhibiting some serious lip-biting pride if he had seen his wife not just raise her voice, but raise the roof with a speech which was in style and substance most obviously comparable to, well, his.

The New York Times ' Nagourney, who has had to sit through (read: "endure") his share of Hillary Clinton speeches, endorses the notion that she got the best reception, and then says of the speeches overall: "The prospective candidates mocked efforts by Mr. Bush and Republican leaders to blame Mr. Clinton for the corporate abuses that have recently emerged, denounced Mr. Bush's successful push for tax cuts as fiscally irresponsible and invoked the Clinton era as a far more prosperous and settled time for the nation than today." LINK

"The breadth and intensity of the attacks suggested that the political climate had changed in the months since the attack on the World Trade Center, and a growing sense among Democrats that Mr. Bush was, notwithstanding his high favorability rating, viewed as vulnerable for a number of his policies."

With more mischievousness than admiration, the New York Post 's Deborah Orin (who walks the Hilton halls like she owns the joint) writes: "[T]he response [Senator Clinton] drew yesterday underscored the fact that none of the real 2004 wannabes was able to make the same kind of emotional connection with a friendly, receptive Democratic crowd." LINK

More than one longtime observer said it was the best speech they had ever heard the former First Lady give.

And we mean no disrespect to either Senator Evan Bayh (who also has removed himself from '04 contention) or to Senators Daschle, Lieberman, and Kerry when we say that the three latter men were so low-voltage in their delivery yesterday that even the notoriously low-key Bayh gave a better speech than they did.

There was nothing substantively wrong with the three speeches — Daschle defended the party's record in the Senate, Lieberman did his usual more-in-sadness-than-in-anger, sharp-elbowed critic of Administration domestic policy, and Kerry did foreign policy — but none of them raised their voices, let alone the roof.

If a candidate is going to come out of this meeting having established a leg up with the political press and the DLC, at least based on their speeches, it is going to be either Gephardt or Edwards, because it didn't happen yesterday.

Still, the hyper-organized DLC made sure that all five speeches were coordinated in tone and substance, but avoided being repetitive.

The Boston Globe 's Johnson leads, "Leading Democrats yesterday sought ways to criticize President Bush's economic policies without leaving themselves open to charges of stirring up class resentment, as they laid the groundwork for the party's campaigns in midterm elections this fall and in the race for the White House in 2004." LINK

EJ Dionne in the Washington Post writes up the Democrats' conundrum in his own way: "some Democrats are afraid their party is about to descend into — shudder — 'class warfare.' They say that arguing in defense of 'the people' against 'the powerful,' as Al Gore did in 2000, will turn off middle-class voters who, as Senator Joe Lieberman put it over the weekend, 'don't see America as us vs. them.'" LINK

"Democrats can't seem to get over arguing about what went wrong during the 2000 campaign. Lieberman criticized Gore over the weekend for moving toward populism and away from a 'pro-growth' platform."

Ms. Page's USA Today headline: "Lieberman says populism cost Gore in 2000." LINK

In prepared remarks he plans to use today (and we bet this line makes it in), Gephardt "compared Bush to his father, the former president, who he said didn't talk about the nation's economic troubles and didn't act on them in losing the 1992 presidential election to Clinton," says the AP's Will Lester. LINK

"The across-the-board critique, including pointed questions about the war in Afghanistan, reflected a growing belief among Democrats that voter anxiety over the economy makes the president and the Republican Party more vulnerable than at any time since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11," the Washington Post 's Balz summarizes. LINK

"Whatever reluctance Democrats had shown to confront Bush has disappeared, with only the barest deference paid to the president for his initial handling of the war on terrorism. Democrats have concluded that Bush's high approval ratings mask an underlying weakness within the administration and believe that concerns about shrunken retirement savings and rising health care costs have boosted the Democrats' prospects in the mid-term elections."

The Washington Times puts it this way: "A phalanx of potential presidential contenders ganged up on President Bush yesterday, accusing him of undermining the economy and weakening the stock market." LINK

Meanwhile, in Circus Ring #3, the New York Times ' unparalleled labor scribe, the nearly-Dickensian-named Steven Greenhouse, previews AFL-CIO president John Sweeney's day today: "Organized labor will announce plans today to throw its considerable weight — in lobbying and in shareholder fights — behind efforts to reform stock options, severance pay and pensions." LINK

"At a labor rally on Wall Street, John J. Sweeney, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., plans to announce the labor movement's support of several proposals, among them recording stock options as expenses and prohibiting top corporate officials from selling company stock while in office."

Tomorrow, the AFL-CIO crew will wrap up its three day tour at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

And the not-at-all-Dickensian-named Wall Street Journal reporter Tom Hamburger has all this outstanding insiders -see-more-here-than-meets-the-eye detail: "Mr. Sweeney's strong speech, denouncing 'corporate criminals and their co-conspirators in Washington,' details labor's agenda for the fall and shows how unions plan to use the wave of corporate scandals to expand union membership, gain long-frustrated political goals, and pressure companies to not move offshore, to restrict stock options, to improve 401(k) plans, and to limit CEO stock sales while in office … "

"Labor officials and some prominent Democrats have for some time been encouraging Mr. Sweeney and the AFL-CIO to take the gloves off. Some say Mr. Sweeney, to date, has even missed an opportunity; he has written some strong letters, and made a speech Monday in Connecticut, but Tuesday's remarks really represent the keynote speech of labor's new campaign, and answer some of labor's internal critics … "

"The labor leader's speech lays out far-reaching demands for bans on stock options, offshore tax havens, and the ability of CEOs to sell company stock while in office. Labor's agenda is broad, and includes public financing of elections, pension and 401(k) overhaul and replacement of 'antiworker members of Congress with men and women who reject insiders and special interests.'"

"Mr. Sweeney lists the names of several corporate executives who have been associated with improper accounting. But he doesn't mention Robert Rubin, the Clinton administration Treasury secretary who served as a director of Citigroup Inc., which has come under congressional scrutiny for deals that allegedly helped Enron disguise its true financial condition. A Citigroup representative declined to comment. Nor does the speech mention the directors of a labor-owned insurance and financial firm, Ullico. Ullico officials have been questioned by the Justice and Labor departments and face an internal inquiry probing stock sales and profits by board members, most of whom are prominent union leaders. Many of Ullico's directors made millions of dollars selling company stock under terms unavailable to other shareholders."

We wonder when someone (in the press? in the Republican-controlled House?) will ask Bob Rubin for more about what he knew and when he knew it when he called Treasury looking for help for Enron; and we wonder if those White House and O'Neill sharpies have this serious push-back stratagem on their radar.

The The Wall Street Journal ed board takes up just the corner of the Rubin matter, praising Treasury Secretary O'Neill for his Sunday Singapore Sling Slap at Rubin, but then reverting to form and saying what O'Neill really should have done was use the opportunity to call for more tax cuts.

The Washington Times editorial page continues its campaign to get Senator Joe Lieberman to call Rubin to testify. LINK , but we ask: why don't they call on House Republicans to do the same thing?

From the ABCNEWS London Bureau: A suicide bomber detonated explosives in central Jerusalem, killing himself and injuring four Israelis. It was the first suicide bombing in Jerusalem since a pair of attacks June 18-19 killed 26 Israelis. According to initial reports, the bomber entered a falafel stand on a busy central Jerusalem street and detonated the bomb. The blast occurred in one of the most heavily guarded areas of downtown Jerusalem.

Al Sharq al Awsat, a Saudi daily newspaper, is quoting al Qaeda sources saying that Osama bin Laden "will appear in video and audio soon." The source went on saying that bin Laden will appear after a big operation planned for August but did not specify whether the target would be American troops stationed in Afghanistan or US targets around the world.

The Politics of Corporate Responsibility

When Vice President Cheney campaigned for Rep. Jim Leach in Cedar Rapids yesterday, he was tailed by "Hallibacon," a creation, it appears, of the state Democratic Party.

Although the state party put out this thoughtfully crafted press release: "Orphaned at an early age, young Hallibacon was raised by his aunt and uncle on a farm just outside of Dows, Iowa. One day, while feeding from the trough, Hallibacon was bitten by an experimental spider. Soon after, he developed unusual powers, super-pig strength and the ability to sniff out corporate corruption. He became Hallibacon, the Corporate Crime Fighting Pig. Not everyone is meant to make a difference; but for Hallibacon, the choice to lead an ordinary life was no longer an option … "

… the Des Moines Register 's story doesn't mention Hallibacon, but does report that Cheney devoted most of his 20 minute speech to corporate accountability. LINK

Any former Halliburton executives (and their lawyers) in Washington will want to check out a panel discussion on trial lawyers and asbestos litigation at the M.J. Murdock Center for Free Enterprise this morning.

Congress' likely next target: tax havens, with lots of GOP support even though it's against their leadership's wishes. LINK

Alan Murray's A4 Wall Street Journal column makes the usual juxtaposition between Democrats claiming that the issue of corporate responsibility has caused a "real land shift" in the political climate with Charlie Cook's saying it isn't showing up in the numbers yet. Murray also tags Bob Rubin and Joe Lieberman as being the Post er children for taking the partisan edge off of the issue.

Politics of the Economy/Budget

Here's a tail-wagging-the-dog story we hadn't thought of, courtesy of the good folks on 43rd Street: "An American attack on Iraq could profoundly affect the American economy, because the United States would have to pay most of the cost and bear the brunt of any oil price shock or other market disruptions, government officials, diplomats and economists say … " LINK

"If consumer and investor confidence remains fragile, military action could have substantial psychological effects on the financial markets, retail spending, business investment, travel and other key elements of the economy, officials and experts said … "

The Wall Street Journal ed board applauds House Ways and Means chairman Bill Thomas for taking on the dynamic scoring fight, on which we would love Ari Fleischer, brandishing his committee alumni card, to get a chance to weigh in from the podium, since such a change would indeed represent the administration's best chance to ease its Big Casino deficit problem.

Legislative Agenda

For those interested in the politics and the substance of the prescription drug debate, Robert Pear's New York Times summary of the state of play, and the lead Wall Street Journal editorial (urging Senate Republicans not to go all wobbly now) are must-reads. LINK

The prescription drug benefit wars in the Senate have reached a "make or break" stage, the Los Angeles Times ' Hook says, as the compromise bill faces GOP opposition. LINK

"In the week since those votes, lawmakers have become increasingly concerned about political fallout if they come up empty-handed on an issue that both parties have made a staple on the campaign trail for years."

"Senate Democrats are especially worried about failing to deliver on one of their top priorities because the GOP-controlled House managed to pass a prescription drug bill--albeit one Democrats consider inadequate."

ABC 2004: The Invisible Primary

Dateline New York Hilton. The Los Angeles Times ' Gerstenzang reports of DLC officials, "Privately, many would prefer that Lieberman, Gore's 2000 running mate, seek the nomination. But with Lieberman's status uncertain, the group currently resembles a jockey without a mount." LINK

Gerstenzang interprets Lieberman's comments from Sunday night thusly (along the lines of the way the Note heard things): "Lieberman previously said he would not run if Gore does. But lately, he has seemed to give himself some wiggle room on that pledge. He has said he would hope Gore would decide by the end of the year, suggesting he might go ahead and declare his candidacy if Gore hasn't."

More from the Globe's Johnson: "Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, issued a scorching condemnation of the administration's foreign policy. Once again, Kerry argued that half-hearted military tactics ordered by the administration probably allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from the mountains of Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Kerry also added fresh criticism of the administration's preparations to attack Iraq and its policy of disengagement with North Korea." LINK

Here's a link to those DLC power-point presentations: LINK

One of the awesome insider sub-themes of the DLC meeting has been David Lightman's one-man admirable crusade to get the group to disclose its donors and the amount they have given.

Senator Bayh and other DLC officials haven't really given Lightman a satisfactory answer as to why they won't go beyond what the law requires and release the information, and Lightman writes it all up for today. LINK

Forget whether Bruce Reed, longtime Clinton/Gore adviser, is toying with the idea of working for Senator John Edwards' presidential campaign. At least for now. Focus this morning on his pure comedy styling from yesterday. LINK

Dick Gephardt, who like President Bush was in South Carolina yesterday, "spent Monday meeting with senior citizens and S.C. Democrats, promoting Medicare prescription drug coverage and universal health care." He also met with Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges. LINK

Just asking. What M&M-loving "West Wing" star expressed interest in the presidential candidacy of a certain New England governor during a break in a live radio show Monday night, guest-hosted by a certain network-producer-turned-White-House-spokesman-turned-Mike-Feldman-coat-holder?

Sure, we could try to keep Joe Biden's 2004 dreams alive with a substantive look at his Iraq hearings, but we prefer to muse: is Page 6 correct in saying that the Senator from Delaware has a dashing, canoodling nephew? LINK

Come on in, the water is nearly warm: an anonymously written newbie blog that seems dedicated to the 2004 Democratic invisible primary, and is done with insight and grace is among us at: thescrum.blogspot.com .

OK, we give up: who are you?

Politics

Democrats control the Senate by just one little seat, and today the Washington Post 's VandeHei pins their continuing majority on the fate of Senator Robert Torricelli and his arguably Clintonesque explanation to the Senate Ethics Committee about those non-gifts he accepted from David Chang. "Torricelli, a hard-charging campaigner and fundraiser, is still considered the front-runner in his November race against wealthy GOP businessman Douglas Forrester. But Republicans … hope the ethics committee will come down on Torricelli hard enough to cost him a second term." LINK

"Whether the ethics committee clears Torricelli or slaps his wrist, Forrester is making the case a centerpiece of his campaign."

"The Republican National Committee's top political strategist, Jack Oliver, traveled to New Jersey yesterday to meet with Forrester's top fundraisers to discuss an aggressive campaign for this fall, said a Forrester aide. Groups close to the GOP are planning to file additional complaints against Torricelli to keep attention focused on his ethics, sources said."

Infused with the anti-Torch passion of Mitch Bainwol, Dr./Senator Bill Frist did Imus this morning.

Apparently Rudy Giuliani's autograph has skyrocketed in value from "$12 to around $100 and $200," according to a fan who got Rudy's John Hancock when Rudy stumped for Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina yesterday. "First stop Monday was an airport news conference with Dole at Raleigh-Durham International. Then, more than 300 people paid $200 a head to hear him talk about his experiences in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and endorse a fellow Republican in the Senate race. The lunch, a fund-raiser for Dole's U.S. Senate campaign, filled a reception hall in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Charlotte and raised about $80,000 for Dole's campaign." LINK

"Giuliani will hold a fund-raiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney" in New York City today. LINK

With a focus on New York races, the New York Times looks at how the approaching September 11 anniversary will affect the ability to (negatively) campaign for races with September 10 primaries. LINK

Quick: rank these gubernatorial campaigns from best to worst in terms of the quality of the effort they are running: Cuomo, McBride, McCall, Reno. Then ask for lottery number advice from the Pataki and Bush campaigns. LINK

Dick Armey is raising lots of money this summer, even as he prepares to leave the House, sayeth the New York Times , complete with tusk-tusking Fred Wertheimer quote. LINK

Rush and Malloy have a related item. LINK

Here's the best indication that the Note will be published straight through election day, with the same level of detail and loving care you have come to enjoy. LINK

California

California is one of three states that give its governors veto power over paroles, and critics of this law charge that such oversight can/will get politicized by campaigning Gov. Gray Davis (D). LINK

Marc Sandalow is already all over what Senator Barbara Boxer's fundraising pace means for her 2004 re-election campaign. LINK

John Wildermuth writes that the "fog" of the tax return controversy is obscuring Bill Simon's forward-looking campaign stops at locales Republicans running for statewide office rarely visit. LINK

Florida

"A man suing a one-time business partner of Gov. Jeb Bush's in a Nigeria water-pump sale that went awry amid allegations of bribery wants to call Bush as a witness in the case whenever it goes to trial, an attorney confirmed Monday. In a related development, the governor said Monday he does not want a federal judge to seal records in the case, as his former business partner, J. David Eller, is seeking," the Miami Herald 's Bridges reports. "If the judge does not seal the records, any pretrial deposition that Bush gives could become public." LINK

The state Democratic party's hard-working research team is already all over this one.

A fiscally conservative, Reagan-quoting gay Republican has a chance to pick up a state legislature seat currently occupied by a GOPer "who made headlines two years ago by telling a group of gay students they would not go to heaven unless they "repent from their sin." LINK

New York

The New York Post says that Andrew Cuomo is about to roll-out Big Daddy big time. LINK

Texas

"Gov. Rick Perry launched an early strike Monday, a statewide television ad saying that Democratic candidate Tony Sanchez helped drug dealers who laundered money at his Laredo savings and loan. A Perry spokesman said that the savings-and-loan issue was among a number of ethical practices the campaign planned to focus on," the Dallas Morning News reports. LINK

Unsurprisingly, Sanchez and his campaign accused Perry of crossing the very thin line between insinuation and accusation. They deny the charges. LINK We'd be more than happy to link to Attorney General John Cornyn's first TV spot (a classic bio spot featuring President Bush), but his new web site was a bit quaky when we tried to play it this morning. LINK

Georgia

Senator Max Cleland's new ad merges the theme of personal heroism with the Senator's work to protect workers and to oppose Social Security personal retirement accounts. LINK

Tennessee

Charlie Cook in his CongressDaily/AM column previews Thursday's GOP Senate primary by listing reasons why Lamar Alexander likely will struggle to win the nomination, noting that a whole "generation of voters has come into the electoral process since" Alexander served as governor, and all these voters know him for are his two unsuccessful runs for the presidency.

In addition, Cook says that GOP Gov. Don Sundquist's endorsement of Alexander really hurt him among conservatives because of lingering bitterness for Sundquist's support for a state income tax.

Early voting in several counties led state officials to predict a record turnout for Thursday's primary. LINK

Conventional wisdom holds that high-turnout closed primary elections favor the more ideologically pure of the candidates, though the other dynamics in Tennessee's GOP Senate primary may trump the usual considerations. LINK

South Carolina

President Bush yesterday "spent about three hours in South Carolina on his third trip to the state in eight months," The State reports. "He spoke in the morning with social service workers and former welfare recipients at a private roundtable about successful programs, and then gave a half-hour speech at West Ashley, the state's newest high school. He spoke later at a private luncheon that raised $1 million for the Republican gubernatorial nominee, former U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, and $200,000 for the state GOP." LINK

Bush's fundraiser yesterday "might be the largest political fund-raiser in South Carolina history." LINK

Iowa

David Yepsen urges political candidates to work hard to court younger voters. LINK

Nevada

In the wake of the president putting the state in the national focus, Nevada's second-largest political issue moved toward a policy resolution yesterday. The state legislature agreed to limited malpractice tort reform, capping non-economic damages at $350,000. There are generous exemptions. Some doctors think they're still at too much risk, and lawyers think the "compromise" isn't in their favor, but the media seems to like the deal. LINK

Bush Administration Strategy/Personality

"For the second time in five weeks, comments by Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill sent Brazil's currency plunging yesterday — and this time, a diplomatic incident ensued," the Washington Post reports. LINK

The Brazilian Foreign Minister complained to the US Ambassador of "'profound ill will' generated by remarks that O'Neill made in a televised interview Sunday, which traders interpreted as suggesting that Washington will oppose new international aid for Brazil's crisis-stricken economy. Brazilian officials were particularly exercised over the Treasury secretary's assertion that he wants to make sure such aid won't 'just go out of the country to Swiss bank accounts.'"

"Ironically, the comments that caused the latest flap came as O'Neill was defending himself on Sunday talk shows against criticism that he lacks the deft touch of his Democratic predecessor, Robert E. Rubin, in calming financial markets."

A Wall Street Journal op-ed by Brink Lindsey of the Cato Institute allows the page to spend another day beating up the White House over trade: "After this string of sellouts, U.S. credibility with our trading partners is currently hovering near zero. As a result, America's ability to assume its normal role in leading trade negotiations is now in serious doubt. How can the U.S. tell other countries to take political risks for freer trade when we are unwilling to follow our own advice? The administration may find that, in winning congressional authority to promote trade, it has lost the moral authority to do so."

We wonder if Bob Zoellick and Mitch Daniels have a club in the administration for officials who are true believers in their issues (free trade and fiscal discipline, respectively) who have to regularly eat policies that fly in the face of their theology.

USA Today profiles President Bush's welfare reform adviser Wade Horn. LINK